Cartridge



(No Model.)

R. J. GATLING.

CARTRIDGE.

No. 513,997. Patented Feb. 6, 1 894.

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PATENT RICHARD J. GATLING, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

CARTRIDGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 513,997, dated anuary 6, 1894.

Applicationfiled April 25, 1893. Serial No. 471.774:- (No model.)

all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD J. GATLING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cartridges, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The invention relates to the class of cartridges for small arms, which have percussive primers and anvils in their heads for igniting the powder, and the object of the invention is to provide a simple, cheap and effective construction whereby such cartridges will be exploded with certainty and all misfires and hang-fires prevented.

To this end the invention resides in a cartridge having a head provided with a recess in which one or more anvils having charges of fulminate, or quick explosive, and a primer having a charge of fulminate, or per cussive explosive, are placed, as more particularly hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is an enlarged central longitudinal section of a shell of a cartridge constructed according to my improvement. Fig. 2 isa view of the interior of the primer. Fig. 3 is a side view of' the primer. Fig. i is a plan view of the anvil. Fig. 5 is a side View of the anvil; and Fig. 6 is a view in central section of the head of the shell of a cartridgeprovided with a double anvil.

In the views, 1 indicates the shell of the cartridge, which is formed of steel, brass or any other common material. The head 2 of this shell is provided with a central circular socket or recess 3, that has one or more perforations l, leading through the end wall of the head to the interior of the shell. In the recess 3, is placed a dome-shaped anvil 5, which has two or more slots or openings 6, made through the side walls to the interior. This anvil'is placed in the recess 3, with its rim against the bottom,and in the interior is deposited a charge 7 of fulminate, or very quick burning powder or explosive. Over this anvil in the recess is placed a primer 8, which also has a charge 9 of fulminate, or explosive that can be ignited by percussion, the fulminate, in this case, lying between the interior wall of the primer and the somewhat flattened top of the anvil.

In Fig. 6 a second anvil 10, is shown within the dome-shaped anvil, to aid in the explosion of the second charge of fulminate or quick explosive.

It has been found in the firing of the rapidfire machine guns now in use, that the charge of the main explosive in the cartridge is not with certainty quickly ignited by the explosion of the fulminate in the primer. This is particularly true with all of the smokeless and other improved powders or explosives now in use, and when cartridges are used with machine guns which act very rapidly, this slow burning powder failing to ignite quickly, causes many hang-fires resulting in the explosion of the cartridge after it is partly withdrawn by the mechanism from the barrel, which is dangerous for the gunner and disastrous to the gun. This also results in many misfires in which the cartridge does not explode.

By means of the presentimprovement when the first charge of fulminate is exploded by the percussion of the primer against the anvil, under the impact of the firing pin of the gun, this first charge of'fulminate is exploded and its flame quickly passes through the perforations in the anvil into the interior and instantly ignites the second charge of quick explosive, which, in view of the shape of the interior of the anvil is thrown through the perforation quickly, so as to surely ignite the powder or explosive in the shell of the cartridge. It is preferred that this secondary charge of quick explosive be a fulminate, so that it will not only be instantly exploded by the heat of the explosion of the first charge, but also will be exploded on its own account by the concussion due to the impact of the firing pin, which can be made to give such a blow as to discharge both portions of fulminate, particularly if there is a second anvil within the first, as shown in Fig. 6. With this cheap construction there are no hangfires, and no mis-fires in the most rapid firing machine guns; a quick and certain ignition of the main charge always ensuing upon the explosion of both the primary and secondtry quantities of fulminate.

I claim as my invention- 1. A cartridge consisting of a shell encloswith a passage to the interior of the cartridge, ing an explosive, said shell having a head a primer with a charge of percussive explowith a chamber bearing a quicker explosive, sive located in said recess, an anvil havinga and a chamber bearing a percussive explocharge of quick explosive located in said I 5 5 sive, substantially as specified. primer, and a secondary anvil located Within 2. A cartridge with a head having a recess the first anvil, substantially as specified. with a passage to the interior of the cartridge, an anvil with acharge of quick explosive, and RICHARD GATLING' a primer with a charge of percussive explo- Witnesses: 1o sive, substantially as specified. H. R. WILLIAMS,

3. A cartridge with a head having a recess P. A. PHELPS. 

